NORTHAMPTON — Local police and event organizers say they are prepared for an estimated 10,000 marijuana enthusiasts expected to attend the Extravaganja festival at the Three County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
This is the first year that the annual pro-legalization marijuana fest put on by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Cannabis Reform Coalition will be held in Northampton after outgrowing its usual space on the Amherst Town Common.
Extravaganja is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m.
Even with Northampton the only police agency patrolling the event, Capt. John Cartledge said Thursday the department will be well-prepared with 20 or so officers on site.
“It’s certainly a bigger event, but we have enough staffing to cover it,” Cartledge said. “There’s really been no major issues in the past … We definitely have enough officers down there to handle any situation that might arise.”
And the estimated crowd of 10,000 is about half the number of people the fairgrounds is equipped to accommodate at any given time. Bruce Shallcross, general manager of the fairgrounds, said it can handle about 20,000 people, and there are about 3,000 parking spaces available.
By comparison, the Three County Fair on Labor Day weekend draws about 14,000 people daily and aims to attract 40,000 people over four days, he said.
“There will be plenty of room for everybody, I think,” Shallcross said Thursday.
He said that Extravaganja will be confined to the infield, while other events, such as the fair, tend to spread across the fairgrounds.
Cartledge said law enforcement will look for “blatant violations” during Extravaganja.
Marijuana possession of less than one ounce is decriminalized in Massachusetts, and use of the drug is legal for medicinal purposes with proper documentation.
But Cartledge said officers who will patrol the event want to make it clear that “it won’t be a free-for-all.”
By law, anyone without a prescription carrying more than an ounce of marijuana may be cited for a civil infraction and assessed a $100 fine for first-time offenses.
Subsequent offenses involving possession of more than one ounce of marijuana are a misdemeanor, and offenders could face anywhere from six months to two years in jail and/or fines ranging from $500 to $2,000.
“All our officers are trained in drug enforcement and impairment-type behavior in some form or fashion,” Cartledge said. “But we do have two drug-recognition experts who will be working (the event) and will be called to the scene if there is any question to (somone’s) sobriety or any evaluations that need to be done on people. They will be the ones we need to rely on while we’re down there.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.